Sermon 4-27-25

Pastor Ray Lorthioir

Trinity Lutheran Church

W. Hempstead, NY

Based on the Gospel Lesson for the Second Sunday of Easter: John 20:19-31

 New Setup

In our observance, we’re now in the season of Easter. It contains 49 days and follows the countdown of days that Yahweh ordered Israel to follow between the Sunday that occurs in Passover week, the Week of Unleavened Bread, and the Sunday fifty days later which is Shavuot, or what we call Pentecost.

To effect the salvation of the world, Yahweh used the festival of Passover, 33A.D.,  to sacrifice the Lamb of God — the Messiah — for the sins of the world. He used Shavuot — Pentecost, 33A.D. — to pour out His Holy Spirit so that sinners of all nations might be saved through the New Birth into Messiah Jesus.

Therefore, on the Easter side of Jesus’ Resurrection, the playing field has changed. Prior to the Resurrection, Jesus was on the field as the sole contestant for the Kingdom of God. Satan and his horde were on the field as the contestants for the Kingdom of this world. Jesus had to endure multiple temptations from Satan, both direct and through agents. These temptations were designed to get Jesus off the script written for Messiah in Moses and the Prophets. They were designed to get Jesus to do what Satan had gotten Adam to do — grasp at false equality with our Creator, Yahweh.

If you remember from last week, we described two kinds of equality with Yahweh. One is true. The other false. Yahweh is absolutely righteous and just. There is no darkness in Him at all. When Yahweh created creatures in His Image — including humanity — He created them as righteous as He is. For, only righteousness can stand in the presence of pure righteousness. Anyone or anything unrighteous will be cast out of Yahweh’s presence and into the outer darkness. Therefore, true equality with Yahweh is equality in righteousness. This is the precious status that Adam and Eve lost when they were deceived into grasping for the false equality.

True righteousness does as true righteousness does. True love does as true love does. True justice does as true justice does. True wisdom does as true wisdom does. In the Image of God, we were designed to do as our Creator does. And Jesus modeled this for us when He spoke about His relationship with Yahweh as Jesus, the son of Mary — a true human. He said in John 5:19-20, “. . .  ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.’”

By saying that He could see what the Father was doing, Jesus also pronounced Himself born without Original Sin. For, only without sin can any human truly see God and reflect the righteousness of the Image of God.

The Good News is that in the resurrection of the dead, those who died here in Jesus Christ will be resurrected in the Image of God to do as true righteousness does. That’s what will make the new heavens and the new earth paradise. Rebellion and sin will be gone.

We don’t know what made Satan grasp for the false equality with Yahweh. We don’t know what made him give up the true equality he once had with Yahweh. But we do know he did grasp for false equality with Yahweh, and very successfully. For, he lost all righteousness and is the epitome of evil.

To describe the false equality with Yahweh, we’ve got to start with Yahweh Himself. Yahweh is Creator. Everything — you, I, all species and everything that exists — has its origin in Him. Nothing exists that does not have its origin in Him. This is Yahweh’s universe. It exists on His terms alone. We exist on His terms alone. And tell me, isn’t there something in you that resists that description of Yahweh? I mean, like where does He get off, telling us that everything exists on His terms alone?  Or maybe when you hear that description, something in you says, “So what?” Well, all that is Original Sin speaking. That’s the false equality of Original Sin rearing its ugly head in you.

The false equality says, “I want to be my own creator. I want to set the terms of my own existence. I want to decide good and evil for myself. I want to live as I choose to live. I want to be my own god. And I don’t want any interference from anyone — especially some so-called Creator God!” Such rebellion against Yahweh is the fount of all evil and wickedness.

Now, what’s truly remarkable about the 19th and 20th centuries, and the 21st century so far, is how Yahweh has permitted the false equality to really rise up in concerted efforts to remake the world in some human’s image. Here’s a list a names: Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao Tse Dung, Ho Chi Minh, Castro, Che Guevara, Pol Pot, Hugo Chavez. What do they all have in common? They attempted to recreate the earth as a supposedly more righteous creation in the image of socialism. What did they actually accomplish? The murder of 100 million or more and the impoverishment of a billion and more. This is the disaster that grasping for the false equality with God creates. There’s one other thing these people and their allies all have in common — hatred of and rebellion against Yahweh and His Messiah.

We can add another name to the list. There was a seventh century caravan raider called Mohammed. His false god and false religion have remade vast sections of the world. To this day, his deluded followers want to subdue the entire world under Sharia Law. His followers have been at war with Messiah Jesus for 14 centuries. Right now, they’re after the biggest prize of all — Europe, once the center of Christianity. All of this and more is what happens when false equality with God rears its ugly head. Unrighteousness, injustice, falsehood, lies, deception and wickedness  prevail. As it says in Psalm 11:3, “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

The righteous can’t do anything. But Yahweh can. And that’s where Jesus comes into the picture. Throughout His earthly ministry, there was one key thing Jesus had to do. As the only true human being ever born without Original Sin, He had to maintain His true equality with Yahweh and He had to resist grasping at false equality with Yahweh. As we saw in Lent this was played out in the various temptations Jesus endured, ending with His last temptation to come down from the cross.

Innocent, perfectly righteous Jesus was persecuted by the leadership of His own people. He was turned over to gentiles to be made sport of, mocked, condemned and murdered on the hideous Roman torture device known as the cross. But what for? 

It’s only in what was given to Moses and the Prophets that we find out. In particular, there is what is written in Isaiah 53:3-6, “3 He [Messiah] was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned — every one — to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

We learn here of the perfect atonement for all the world’s sin that the man, Jesus, made to Yahweh that satisfied righteous Yahweh’s just wrath against humanity. But, did you catch what was said about every one of us turning to our own way? That’s grasping the false equality with God. It’s what the cursed Original Sin does to all of us. Jesus had to satisfy the wrath of Yahweh against all of us for doing this. For, Yahweh means for us to grasp after the true equality with Him — His righteousness. The Good News of the Gospel is that because Jesus paid the penalty for our grasping false equality with God, the way is now open for all humanity to grasp true equality with God.

The problem is, however, that the Original Sin we’re all born with wants nothing to do with grasping at true righteousness. The best we can do for ourselves is grasp at whatever amount of Yahweh’s Law is possible to us. But we do this in our own way as sheep that have gone astray. Scripture makes that clear. For we have this unequivocal word in James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” And Jesus showed how even those most observant of the Law fail when He said things like Matthew 5:21-22. “21 ‘You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, “You fool!” will be liable to the hell of fire.’” And Matthew 5:27-28 “27 ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’” This is why in our confession of sins we confess sin in thought as well as word and deed.

So, not only do we have Original Sin against us, we also have the world system and its tyrant, Satan, against us. Satan’s method with us is pretty simple. Get us to lust after something, or set up a false god for ourselves to put our trust in, like riches. Or get us to open our mouths to say something that causes all kinds of trouble. Satan’s best method is to get the Christian to stumble in some way so that our conscience then bothers us. This perp then has the nerve to stand as our accuser before God so that we doubt whether Yahweh will forgive and heal us. Indeed, Revelation 12:10 calls Satan the accuser of the brethren.

Because of all this and more, we do not have the power within us to grasp after true righteousness. Therefore, through Jesus, Yahweh had to take action for us. This is what the New Birth is all about. It’s Yahweh’s action upon us and within us. The New Birth is His gracious good will toward us in Messiah Jesus.

However, Yahweh’s saving action within us doesn’t come out of nowhere. The Lutheran theologians say that Yahweh always works through His means of grace. And what is His means of grace? The Word and the Sacraments.

The Word and the Sacraments proclaim Jesus to us, pure and simple. When the proclamation of Jesus has been heard, then Lord Holy Spirit comes to provide saving faith in what we have heard. Only then can we call upon the Lord and grasp after true equality. As St. Paul notes in Romans 10:13-15, “13 For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” As we look into this morning’s Gospel lesson we’ll see Jesus establish the Word and the Sacraments.

Now, in this morning’s Gospel lesson, we’re in the final seconds of the third quarter of the greatest contest ever held. Jesus has been victorious on the field. He has done the one thing necessary to be Messiah and the Second Adam. He has only grasped at true equality with Yahweh. He has utterly rejected grasping at the false equality that Satan set before Him multiple times. And so He has established forever the triumphant Easter words of the hymn in Philippians 2:5-11, “5 . . . Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

And now in these final seconds of the third quarter Jesus is turning His victory over to the Apostles so that He may leave the field. For, the fourth quarter belongs to Messiah’s Church. And we’re still in the fourth quarter until Jesus returns.

In this quarter the Church must undergo much temptation and persecution. There will be defeat and suffering. But there is also victory after victory. For Messiah’s Church is established on the solid rock of the Word and the Sacraments. And the power of Messiah’s Church is none other than Lord Holy Spirit Himself. And through Lord Holy Spirit, Jesus is still on the field with His Church.

So, let’s see what Jesus set up in the wake of His victory and before His ascension to the right hand of the Father. We, therefore, turn our attention to the events of Easter evening in the upper room. First is Luke 24:37-49, “Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’ 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them. 44 Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you ware clothed with power from on high.’”

The first thing Jesus had to prove was that He was bodily resurrected. Spirits can’t eat fish. But those with human bodies can. And once that was settled, the really important thing happened. Jesus opened their minds to fully and properly understand what is written about Messiah in Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. And once their minds had been opened, they would be able to see that Jesus checked off all the boxes in the Messianic prophecies. Not only that, they would be able to teach and preach all of what is said about Jesus in Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. That’s clear from their sermons recorded in the book of Acts.

Now let’s turn to today’s Gospel lesson — the same event on Easter evening — only as it’s recorded in John’s Gospel. John 20:19-23, “19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.’”

We need to quickly clear verse 23 out of the way. The apostles were not given autocratic authority to capriciously give and withhold forgiveness of sins at their own whim. No. When they preached the Gospel, there would be those who repented and believed and those who would not. The Apostles were given authority to forgive the sins of the penitent and withhold forgiveness from the impenitent. Simple as that. We do the same to this day.

The important part in John is that Jesus breathed Lord Holy Spirit on the Apostles on Easter evening. They would receive an additional special empowerment on the Day of Pentecost. However, it was only because Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on the Apostles in the upper room that night that they could then understand the Scriptures that prophecy Jesus. And the same thing is true to this day. Unless Lord Holy Spirit enlightens you, everything written about Jesus in the Old Testament will remain outside of your understanding.

And finally we come to Thomas. He wasn’t there on Easter evening. When he returned, the ten other Apostles preached the Gospel to Him. They witnessed to Thomas about what they had seen and heard on Easter evening. If Thomas had believed, he would have become the first convert to what we know as the Christian faith. But Thomas stubbornly refused to believe their message. Maybe it was because he was miffed about being left out. We don’t know. But, it doesn’t matter, because it was the Lord’s purpose that Thomas should be an eyewitness of His resurrection.

So, on the Sunday evening eight days later, Jesus made Himself known to Thomas in His resurrected immortal body. We, thus, read in John 20:27-28, “27 Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ 28 Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” Thomas’ reaction to Jesus was unequivocal — my Lord and my God. There was power behind that declaration and power in that declaration. It would carry Thomas all the way to the southwest coast of India to preach the Gospel and would lead to his death there.

Most important to us, though, were the words Jesus spoke to Thomas in John 20:29, “Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’” With these words Jesus established the rules of the fourth quarter — rules that have come down to us. Once Jesus was ascended, He would not continue to appear physically when the Gospel is preached. Instead, we would have to believe people like Thomas — in particular, the Apostles and Evangelists who wrote the New Testament.

Blessed are we who have not yet seen our Lord in His resurrected body, but have believed the testimony of the 600 witnesses. For Lord Holy Spirit has come to give us faith in their testimony. And to us belong the Word and the Sacraments. To us belong the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. To us belongs resurrection to eternal life in the Image of God, free of Original Sin and clothed in the righteousness of Messiah. To us belongs victory even in this present age as we engage in the struggle against sin, the world and the devil. As it is said, blessed are those truly in Messiah who no longer see Jesus through the eyes of the world, but see the world through the eyes of Jesus. Amen.

All Bible quotes are from the ESV.